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Remarks to Greater Indianapolis Progress Committee Mayor Gregory A. Ballard 8 a.m. June 8, 2011 As prepared for deliveryAny city that unlocks the secrets to consistently high quality education and graduation rates,combined with strong post-secondary opportunities, will be a magnet for the businesses of thefuture.As I said in my State of the City address, Indianapolis must have schools that parents want tomove to, not from. A quality education that helps prepare students to become productivecitizens and remain employable is crucial to making Indianapolis the most livable big city inAmerica.Among the many education questions facing the city, two stand out today. One is what weshould do about the imminent state takeover of up to seven IPS schools later this year. Thesecond is the larger question of where we want to go as a city when it comes to our publiceducation system.First things first. As part of a state law that passed in 1999, the State of Indiana can intervene inor even take over management of schools that fail to meet the State’s minimum educationstandards for six consecutive years. As many as seven IPS schools, including others acrossIndiana, face the very real prospect of being taken over by the state.Just as I do on most issues of concern, my first steps are to listen and learn. I’ve read a lot andtalked with a lot of people, including State Superintendent Dr. Tony Bennett, IPSSuperintendent Dr. Eugene White, leaders in charter schools, the Mind Trust, the State Board ofEducation and others. I know that the Indianapolis Chamber of Commerce is also studying thisissue.My focus right now is on achieving the best possible results for the students at these particularschools. There is a community consensus that after six years of failing to meet minimumstandards, these schools must undergo significant change, and do so now. The status quo atthese schools is not acceptable. So, the city took action.At my urging, the Indiana General Assembly changed the law this year so the Mayor can ask theState Board of Education to return these schools to local oversight. It is a law I plan to use nextyear when the city petitions the State to incorporate these schools into a system similar to oursuccessful charter program. This approach strikes the right balance between maintaining thestatus quo, which is not acceptable, and a complete state takeover of these local schools.Let me be clear, I respect Dr. White and our classrooms are filled with many dedicated andtalented teachers who are doing a very difficult job in very difficult circumstances. I alsobelieve we absolutely must make some fundamental changes at these schools. So, I support Dr.Bennett’s efforts to reform these schools and help these students. Yet, I believe local solutionsare better over time. 1

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The city, beginning under former Mayor Bart Peterson and continuing today, has a stellarrecord of overseeing charter schools. In 2011, Stanford University found that charter schoolperformance in Indianapolis outpaced the traditional public schools in learning gains. We sethigh standards, demand results and hold accountable schools that don’t measure up. Ourmodel and our connection to the community is much stronger than any state bureaucracy.In our charter model, individual schools are free of much of the unnecessary bureaucracy ofcentralized school administrations. The Mayor’s office does not run schools; we do not decidewho to hire or fire; we do not decide what buildings to use; and we do not make any of the day-to-day decisions in the classrooms of these schools. Charter schools are free to innovate; freeto empower their teachers and reward them for high performance. We have a compliance andaccountability model. We set high standards and we hold the charter schools accountable tothese standards. Our accountability system includes regular school visits by members of theCity’s Office of Education Innovation, annual analysis of a school’s performance on both ISTEP+and Northwest Evaluation Association assessments, annual visits by local education experts,annual financial analysis by an independent accounting firm, and surveys submitted by parents,staff, and students.Succeed, and they are permitted to continue to educate our children. Fail, and we demandchange - period. It is important to note that none of our charters have ever reached the levelwhere the state could take over. We demand changes long before that – and it is working. Ifnot, we close the school, as we just did.People are noticing. Last year the Walton family, of Wal-Mart fame, noticed our success andpledged $1.3 million through their family foundation to help develop new community-anchoredcharter schools in Indianapolis. A few weeks ago we awarded the first grants and I look forwardto hopefully welcoming these new schools into our city in the next year or two. Also in 2010,we were the first city in the nation to develop a plan to transition private catholic schools intopublic charter schools.Our program is focused on results for our children and it is a similar model we must bring tobear on these failing schools. It will not be easy. It will take hard work and perseverance toturn these schools around. They need to be transitioned with care. It’s not like we are flippinga switch here. This all must be done with much thought and care because failure could set backeducation reform for years.The return of local oversight of our schools sets the stage for the larger discussion abouteducation in our city as a whole. I understand there are some thoughtful and concernedleaders out there who believe the Mayor should take-over all of IPS. I appreciate their passion.I share their concern that we must improve the education system in our city in order to remaincompetitive and grow as a community. However, I think these calls are premature right now. 2

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First, the landmark reforms passed by Governor Daniels and the General Assembly have notbegun to be implemented yet – let alone given time to work. All schools in Indianapolis needthe time to use the new tools available to them to improve the education of our children.Parents, school board members and administrators now have more options and choices thanever. Parents have more choice where to send their kids. School boards and administratorshave new tools such as higher pay for high performing teachers and the ability to make moreappropriate personnel reforms. However, it is not enough that state law has changed;everyone involved must act and adapt.Second, I believe our immediate focus should be on the successful turnaround of the schoolsbeing taken over by the state. Once we successfully turn around these schools, then we cantackle the larger issue of IPS as a whole. At public meetings last week regarding state takeover,parents and teachers both expressed concerns that administrators kept changing staff, goalsand missions every couple of years hoping something would work. Let’s not make the samemistake.We need to be quick, but methodical in our approach. Even U.S Secretary of Education ArneDuncan recommended that we start with achievable first steps when undertaking majorreform.There is no question that our city needs outstanding schools – and that is a discussion largerthan just IPS. We have ten other school districts, plus public charter and private schools, butreform can only take us so far. Without a caring adult in the lives of these students it’s notlikely to get us where we need to be. If a parent won’t play that critical role, then we as acommunity have a responsibility to step up. That’s why I was in Washington, DC a few weeksago meeting with national charitable groups discussing a new effort to connect caring adultswith at-risk youth.Our community must also recognize and expand upon our successes. Yes, we have some largechallenges, but we also have some great success stories in public education in our community.Speedway schools are exceptional: high graduation rates, no school debt, and a close knit partof our community. Did you know that Marion County is home to two of the state’s threePresidential Scholars? Neither of these outstanding students attended one of our premiereprivate schools, they graduated from two of our great public schools: North Central andFranklin Central High Schools. And let’s recognize when there is great news at IPS. Just lastweek School 84 was named the top magnet school in the nation!The education of our children shapes our future as a city. Our community objective must be tohave schools that are among the best performing in the nation. I believe we will get there solong as we start with the premise that each child deserves a student-centered, learning focusedenvironment. 3

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For the remainder of this year, I intend to continue my ongoing dialogue with Dr. White and Dr.Bennett to assist them in their work together as they deal with the state takeover of thesefailing schools. We will be seeking input across our community and from education experts toput together a detailed plan to petition the State Board of Education to transfer these schoolsto a charter-like model with local oversight.Now, unlike ever before, there is an opportunity for our community to embrace the changethat will lead to a better education for each child. I’m optimistic. We’ve made progress in thelast few years as a city and with recent state reforms and the support of parents, teachers andpartners like the Chamber and the Mind Trust; we have a real opportunity to positionIndianapolis extremely well nationally. This effort will take a lot of cooperation. So long as wekeep children as our first priority and take the time to methodically and carefully work throughthese issues, our city will be successful.Thank you. 4